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Monday, November 30, 2015

My Experience Working for the Mormon Church Part 4

Part 4 From Betrayal to Freedom.

By this time my experience at the Church took a 180 degree turn for the worst. And it had all to do with betrayal, than with not getting hired full-time. By this time, about 8 months in the office, I no longer had work giving to me. Every Time I asked someone for work, they would tell me, “Huh, yeah, sure, let me give it to you when the time comes around….” They never did. It was the most passive aggressive place I’ve ever stepped foot in. And it all had to do with that time when I messed up on a few projects.

So asking was impossible to get work, so I just found work myself. My own grunt work, such as quality assurance of LDS.org. Making sure all the millions of pages had bad links. Not much room for growth there.

By this time my past work buddies all moved on to other companies, or departments and doing very well, such as Jo and Ellen. While I felt left behind and had no room for improvement and redemption. People altogether ignored me and left me in a rut.

So I found my own hours, and left it at that. My wife and I was struggling with money and even our marriage, because of all the worries and stresses of all of this. Every Time I applied for whatever job opening within the office, they would see my name and veto my chances. Not giving me any hope or chance, I felt like the black duck.

So I decided to network like crazy to get my portfolio up and running with great references from past employees i’ve worked with.

So I e-mailed the invite to many people within the Church department, including Ellen. However to my shock, she overlooked my portfolio and gave it a very harsh review, much like a food critic to a fast food joint. She told me that my past work was very “sub-par and childish” and that one of the projects I’ve help built for the Church that was featured on my portfolio, was against the law to show on my site as credit and how I should get arrested and disfellowshipped from the Church. I was shocked, and betrayed. She did gave me tips, but small ones that was overshadowed by all-aggressive tips of my “mediocre work”.

Ellen then topped it off by telling me that she won’t give me a letter of recommendation because we didn’t work together as much as we should, and how my work was weak, even if she and I did a few together months before.

The damage was done, pure rejection by means of a passive aggressive email. Dagger-meet-back. I felt horrible, worthless, inferior and lower than dirt. I left work and got on the bus home and felt like killing myself. Really, Ellen, Really. You were the same person months before that said that you will find a way to hire us on-calls by whatever means and then I offer you help and you stab me right in the back. Well played sister.

I looked elsewhere and found a few from past jobs, along with a few from people within the Church department I hardly worked or talked too. See, Ellen, See.

Anyways, the time came where I finally found a full-time opening with another company. I recalled jumping for joy as I packed my things up from my desk. My boss Ken said, “Good luck, now leave your badge on my desk”.

Not really a big ceremony but for me inside it was. As I rode on the bus home that afternoon feeling glad to finally work towards my career, I laughed as I recalled that time when I ran into a family member that warned me about the passive hostile environment at the Church Office Building. Then I didn’t understood, as I do now as I moved on in my life.

My first day at my new job I felt respected and useful for the first time in a year, as my desk had a brand new mac computer and plenty of teamwork and useful communication to go along with it.

It was hard but what do you expect where you add both Church and Office Building in one title.